Analyzing the relation between population factors and technological progress is the main
purpose of this book. With its declining population Japan faces the simple but difficult
problem of whether sustained economic growth can be maintained. Although there are many studies
to investigate future economic growth from the point of view of labor force transition and the
decreasing saving rate technological progress is the most important factor to be considered in
the future path of the Japanese economy. Technological progress is the result of innovations or
improvements in the quality of human and physical capital. The increase in technological
progress which is measured as total factor productivity (TFP) is realized both by
improvements in productivity in the short term and by economic developments in the long term.
The author investigates the relationship of population factors and productivity focusing on
productivity improvement in the short term. Many discussions have long been held about the
relation between population and technological progress. From the old Malthusian model to the
modern endogenous economic growth models various theories are developed in the context of
growth theory. In this book these discussions are summarized briefly with an analysis of the
quantitative relation between population and technological progress using country-based panel
data in recent periods.
